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Elena Kulichenko

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Elena Kulichenko
Personal information
NationalityCyprus
Born (2002-07-28) 28 July 2002 (age 22)
Odintsovo, Russia
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHigh Jump
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsHigh Jump (Indoors): 1.92m (Fayetteville, 2023)
High Jump (Outdoors): 1.97m (Eugene, 2024)NR
Medal record
Representing  Russia
European Youth Olympic Festival
Silver medal – second place 2017 Győr High jump
Representing  Cyprus
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Espoo High jump
World University Games
Silver medal – second place 2023 Chengdu High jump

Elena Kulichenko (Russian: Елена Куличенко; Greek: Έλενα Κουλιτσένκο; born 28 July 2002) is a Russian-born Cypriot track and field athlete, a national record holder in the high jump.[1]

Early and personal life

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From Odintsovo, she is the daughter of Marina Kulichenko and Alexei Kulichenko. After graduating from high school she studied and competed at a university in Russia, but found she was unhappy and accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Georgia to study International Development and to start competing for the Georgia Bulldogs.[2][3]

Career

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Junior career

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Kulichenko was the 2017 Russia U-18 National Outdoor Champion and was a silver medalist at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival in Győr.[4] In 2018, she was granted permission to compete in junior events as a neutral athlete.[5]

Cypriot switch

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In 2019, she was again declared eligible to compete as an authorised neutral athlete by the IAAF Doping Review Board even while the Russian national federation remained suspended. She met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition under competition Rule 22.1A(b).[6]

She was able to gain Cypriot citizenship in 2019 because her father works and owns property in the country which had an investment program which allows foreign nationals who invest in the Cypriot economy to apply for passports for themselves and their families. The Amateur Athletic Association of Cyprus gave her the condition that she serve a transition season prior to competing for them internationally. She was quoted in Time as saying “It wasn’t a spontaneous decision, I thought about it for a long time”, but that she received “hundreds of messages on Instagram calling me a traitor”.[7]

She began competing on the American collegiate circuit and was named SEC Women's Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year for 2022, and also earned First-Team All-American honors.[8] She won the bronze medal in the high jump at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held in Austin, Texas in June 2023, finishing behind Lamara Distin and Charity Griffiths.[9][10]

In July 2023, she won the Cypriot national championships with a 1.90m clearance in Nicosia.[11] Later that month, she cleared 1.91m to win gold at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships. It was Cyprus' first ever gold medal at the event.[12]

Major championship debut and national records

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She cleared 1.92m for a new outdoor personal best to qualify for the final on her major championship debut at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, in August 2023.[13]

She set a new Cypriot national record clearing 1.95 metres to win the SEC Championship in Gainesville, Florida on 9 May 2024.[14] She increased that to 1.97m at the NCAA Championship final in Eugene, Oregon in June 2024, sharing the title with Rose Yeboah.[15]

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris she finished 7th in the high jump event clearing 1.95 metres.

References

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  1. ^ "E.Kulichenko". Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. ^ "E.Kulichenko". Georgiadogs.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  3. ^ Frierson, John (26 January 2023). "Quick Chat: Elena Kulichenko". Georgiadogs.com.
  4. ^ Poole, Greg (19 November 2020). "TRACK & FIELD: UGA BEGINS EARLY SIGNING PERIOD WITH EIGHT ADDITIONS". Bulldawgillustrated.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ Pavitt, Michael (23 June 2018). "IAAF approve applications from 33 Russian athletes to compete neutrally at youth championships". Insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  6. ^ "IAAF approves the application of 37 Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes". infobae.com. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  7. ^ Roach, Madelaine (6 July 2021). "Russia Was Banned From the Tokyo Olympics. These Athletes Are Finding Other Ways to Compete". Time. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  8. ^ Becton, Stan (20 April 2022). "8 true freshmen in NCAA women's track and field who can burst on the scene in 2022". ncaa.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  9. ^ Barrow, Leland (12 June 2023). "UGA women finish top 10 in NCAA Championships". wgauradio. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  10. ^ Battaglia, Joe (11 June 2023). "Charity Griffith Of Ball State Sets New Personal-Best To Win NCAA High Jump". flotrack. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Cypriot championship: Trajkovic, excellent 110hs – double Olivia Fotopoulou on 100 and 200". atleticalive.it. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Cyprus clinches first Euro athletics U23 gold". Newsincyprus.com. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Women's High Jump Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Women's high jump final". World Athletics. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  15. ^ Mulkeen, John (8 June 2024). "Pryce, Long and Jones impress in sprints at NCAA Championships". World Athletics. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
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